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Protests across U.S. oppose Breonna Taylor decision for 2nd night

Protesters raise their fists in support of Breonna Taylor near Jefferson Square Park in Louisville, Ky., on Thursday. Photo by Mark Lyons/EPA-EFE
1 of 3 | Protesters raise their fists in support of Breonna Taylor near Jefferson Square Park in Louisville, Ky., on Thursday. Photo by Mark Lyons/EPA-EFE

Sept. 25 (UPI) -- For a second straight night, protesters took to the streets in cities throughout the country in response to a Kentucky grand jury's decision not to indict three officers for the death of Breonna Taylor.

In Louisville, Ky., police said in a statement that officers arrested at least 24 protesters Thursday night on charges of unlawful assembly, failure to disperse and riot in the first degree for vandalizing businesses, breaking windows and attempting to set a library on fire.

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The damage occurred as protesters marched through the streets of Louisville, where a grand jury on Wednesday indicted one of the three officers on lesser charges of wanton endangerment for firing into a neighboring apartment.

None of the officers were charged in Taylor's actual death.

Among those arrested was Kentucky State Rep. Attica Scott, who authored a bill titled "Breonna's law," which would ban "no-knock" warrants in the state. Her daughter, Ashanti Scott, was also arrested.

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Police said the damage prompted them to declare the protest an unlawful assembly.

Earlier, Louisville authorities said nearly 130 people had been arrested overnight Wednesday during protests that saw two police officers shot.

Among those arrested was Larynzo Johnson, who has been charged with two counts of first-degree assault of a police officer and 14 counts of wanton endangerment of a police officer, according to records from the Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections.

In Los Angeles, one person was hospitalized with minor injuries Thursday night after two vehicles drove into a crowd of some 300 protesters in Hollywood, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement.

The driver of a blue pickup truck maneuvering through the demonstration became involved in an altercation with the protesters and struck a protester while attempting to flee the scene, authorities said.

Video posted online shows the pickup trying to move through the march and ramming a woman, throwing her to the street. Police said they have identified the driver.

Moments later, the driver of a white car became involved in an altercation with protesters and drove through the crowd. That driver fled the scene, police said.

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Police said hundreds marched through Hollywood in a demonstration that had mostly been peaceful, except for a few "isolated reports of vandalism."

In Seattle, police said Thursday they placed an officer on administrative leave after he was seen in a video walking the wheels of his bicycle over the head of a protester.

In a statement, the department said the King County Sheriff's Office is investigating at the request of its Office of Police Accountability.

The Seattle Police Department said that more than a dozen people were arrested during protests Wednesday for attacking a business, launching an incendiary device, throwing rocks and bottles at officers, setting fires and striking an officer with a metal baseball bat.

"From a review of the video posted on Twitter, [the Seattle Police Department's Force Investigation Team] identified potential violations of SPD policy, as well as potential criminal conduct," the department said.

The watchdog requested an independent investigation for the incident.

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